Trails of Tears
by Wingheart99
Summary: What would happen if the simplest of objects caused you to be sucked back into time everytime you closed your eyes? Would you be there for a reason? And if so would you make it right?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I stared out the window of my family's van for the last time at the neighborhood that had been the building blocks of my childhood. Being that I was now 15, like the years of my childhood, I hoped to never forget this place.

The sun was at its highest point in the clear blue summer sky; the warm wind wisped through the deep green leaves of tree limbs. I heard the sound of my family's French Bulldog, E.T, pouting again to be released from the confinements of her kennal followed by her scratching the wired door with her fore paws. I felt sorry for her, having to be shut away like she was an inanimate object without feelings.

I turned in my seat enough so I could see her. Looking at her the familiar image of a young brown wolf with sleek fur, that made him look even younger, and piercing amber eyes that were bold yet gentle for close companions. Suddenly I was swamped yet again into grief for the animal as if that wolf was a true part of my family.

No one would ever believe me even if I was crazy enough to tell them, but last winter he had been. Last winter everything had changed and it all started with a simple birthday present....

I entered my school with my usual sly smile on my face. Scanning the hallway I quickly located my best friend, Rosalina Tai, taking out books from her locker with her back turned in my direction. I quickly took on the opportunity and silently crept up to her from behind. I slipped one hand onto one of her shoulders quickly and said, "how's it cracking little lady." She whirled around with a surprised look in her eyes which was quickly overcome of how angry she was at me. "Nat," she yelled at me in a low voice, "aren't you suppose to be an 8th grader now?" I chuckled, "yeah but it doesn't mean I can't have a little fun now does it?"

She opened her mouth to give me another one of her smart remarks but closed it again as one of her teachers past us. It was a black haired woman about Rosalina's height. She was wearing a red shirt with the school's name printed on it in big orange lettering and a long kaki skirt. I caught a glimpse at her nametag which read, 'Ms. Kevin'. Ms. Kevin looked at me and at Rosalina then walked away.

"Weird," I said once the teacher had rounded the corner. I felt a hard hit on my shoulder. "Owe!" I turned to Rosalina who was playing her angry face at me again, "you could've gotten me in trouble!" I shrugged, "yeah…_could've_ but I didn't." She gave me a long glare then went back to taking books out of her locker.

I recognize the purple cover of the 10th grade science book quickly (and not just because it read 'Science'.) "So what are 10th graders up to in science?" I asked. It wasn't like I cared or anything. I rarely cracked open my own science book when it came time to studying for a test unless it was a major grade or something. "We have a midterm coming up," she groaned, "right before the holidays, this is just great!" "I think we have midterms too," I replied with a smile, "maybe we can study together?"

She rolled her eyes, "yeah right; what does 10th grade physical science have to do with 8th grade earth science?" I smiled at what instantly came to my mind and with a laugh I replied, "well together they make chemistry."

"You wish! It so does not," Rosalina said. "Does to," I argued back. She gave an irritated sigh then closed her locker, "I'm not arguing." I could tell by her face she _did_ mean that. I nodded knowing when Rosalina said something like she just did you better stop because when Rosalina gets mad she didn't play.

I helped her gather her books from the floor then offered to walk her to class. "You're gonna be late," she reminded me. "Don't care," I groaned looking at the door of Rosalina's first class. She sighed, "So what are you doing for the holidays?"

Suddenly the door of the classroom swung open. Inside a tall woman with brown hair tied up in a bun with glasses handing off her nose was staring down at us. "Miss Tai we're waiting on you," she said.

I quickly gave Rosalina her text books then began to make my way for my first class of the morning. I already knew I wouldn't get to my part of the school until at least a few minutes after 8:00, which is the time we're suppose to be in class. "I haven't even gone to my locker yet," I muttered to myself suddenly remembering I hadn't bothered to take my back pack home the night before. Boy, did Mr. Lou have it in for me!

I rushed to my locker and got the stuff I knew I needed for my first 3 periods then went down the hall to my math class. I took in a deep breath before entering that classroom this morning and when Mr. Lou turned around to handle me I already knew what was coming, "Detention Mr. Wolff,"…exactly. And that's how I ended up here.

I looked around the old computer lab, which was now the Detention Classroom, and laid my head down on my desk. I had finished my homework, and I think by the way that I did a pretty good job on my essay, 2 full pages! Now after that I am bored…out of my freaking mind!

Sometime later I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes again my dad was standing right in front of my desk. He was giving me a hard look with his eyes staring straight at me. I sat up instantly back in my seat. Now I could see, Mr. Scott, the teacher in charge of detention for today, behind him.

I bit my lip expecting to see my mother somewhere in the room. Sighing of relief I saw she wasn't there. "We have a lot to talk about when we get home Nathaniel!" Of course it was my dad speaking. He and my mom were the only people I allowed to call me Nathaniel. With them actually when they got mad it didn't make any difference, either way I knew I was gonna get it. I just think to them being able to call me Nathaniel, when they know I hated it, gave them more power over me which they enjoyed, a lot.

My dad gave me another long hard look then said, "Your mom and brother are out waiting in the car go join them." "Oh great!" I thought but dared not say. I was in enough trouble as it is without what my dad called 'Back-talk'.

Trying my best to avoid the sound of my dad and Mr. Scott talking about me until I was out of earshot, I went out into the parking lot and got into my family's mini van. I slid open the door unwillingly; I knew I was in for it. Getting into the van I was greeted by, "Nathaniel Marvin Wolff, this is the fourth time we've had to come pick you up from detention in the last 3 weeks!" and of course that came from my mom.

I looked at my mom. She had a stern look on her face. She says she had long hair once that hung loosely over her shoulders and streamed down her back. I guess that would be believable, but now she always had her dark brown hair cut, confounded to the length to her shoulders.

I looked away and took my seat next to my younger brother, Alex. He waved at me and smiled but didn't speak. I guess he knew if he even said a word to me right now mom would have his head. I fastened my seat belt and leaned back in my seat, listening to my mom's nonstop scolding.

"And all I can ask is, why," she was saying, "why is my oldest son who used to be a little angel getting in so much trouble?" I'll have to say this and hope I don't sound conceded; when I was younger I literally rarely got into trouble. I was the sweetest boy alive; I'm not saying I'm not good now but….

I heard a car door open and my dad got into the driver's seat. He didn't even look at me as he started the car and he began to pull the van out of the parking lot.

….well according to my parents I'm not anymore.

I think I should tell you a little about myself. First of all, I'm in a band with my brother called the 'Naked Brothers Band'. (We were really little when we came up with the name.) I'm the leader and he's the drummer. We both write music, I'm not bragging, but I've written a lot more songs than Alex and that's the truth. My mom's a producer, how cool is that? She wrote and produced a movie for my band back when I was only 9 years old. So my mom's pretty awesome, when she's not yelling at me. She's currently writing a series of our band that runs on a television network; some things in it happened in real life and some didn't, but I wish they did.

Moving along to my dad and brother; for starters, my dad was once in a band as well. To bad it wasn't a rock band because it would have been so cool to say you had a rock star as a father, am I right? But to bad; I guess he's saving that for me one day. Anyways, my dad's was in a blues band. Yeah blues, lucky for me really because he helps inspire some of my songs using blues music. He also helps get Alex's and my songs onto albums with help from Columbia Records. It's so awesome, but even though Alex and I are inheriting the famous gene I still think of myself as a normal kid.

Dad drove the car into the garage and we all got out. I tried as hard as I could to keep my eyes low to avoid the hostile glares from my parents. Going inside I got to my room as quick as possible. Not even 10 seconds after I had entered I heard my dad call me from downstairs and he said, 'Nathaniel.'


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

So I wasn't grounded, lucky for me. I did get restricted from some things however, like my cell phone and computer; dang parents are annoying! Thank goodness my birthday is in a few days followed by Christmas Holidays, yes! And my parents can never fool me about my birthday gifts because I always find a clue like last year the receipt for my new computer was in the garbage that I had to take out.

All and all; back to my story.

"So I'm guessing the party at Ryan's this weekend is out right?" Rosalina asked certainly. Rosalina and I were walking home from school on Friday. I had invited her to dinner but she had homework-so did I- so we decided to walk together to the road that branched off into four roads, two in which led to our homes. I nodded, "The party of the year and I'm not going," I sighed. Rosalina giggled, "Did you forget your birthday was this weekend? You wouldn't have gone anyways silly."

I tried my best not to blush but could feel my face turn hot anyways. How could I forget my own birthday? "Your parents invited my dad, Josh, and me to your birthday party so I'll be there," she smiled. "At least my friends will be there," I thought, "mom and dad probably invited all their families so they have to come." "Nat you still with me?" I heard her fingers snapping right in front of my face and I came back to reality, "Yeah, fine; so see you tomorrow at my party?" She nodded and we parted ways.

I walked along the sidewalk with my sweatshirt's hood on my head and my hands tucked deep as they could go into its pockets. It was really windy today and with that added onto the low temperature would make anyone come down with something and I wasn't gonna allow myself to get sick with my birthday only the next day.

My eyes fluttered open on the shadows of frosted sunshine casting over onto my bright orange painted wall. My first thoughts were why did it seem like short daylight hours and longer night hours was only a phrase and there wasn't anything long about the nights in New York. I sat up and rubbed lingering sleep from my eyes. I looked over at my alarm clock and saw that it read 7:20.

Sudden excitement rushed me as I remembered that I was one year older than I was the previous day. I was now 14-years-old! I ripped the sheets off of myself and hopped out of bed and went downstairs, half expecting to see people already down there to congratulate me. I found the other 50% of my assumption correct when I saw only my mom and dad in the kitchen.

My dad was sitting at the table reading the _New York Times_ with a cup of coffee as he always did and my mom was busily getting materials out of the fridge to start breakfast with. Neither of them seemed to notice when I entered the room. It couldn't have been more obvious in my mind that they were either ignoring me or had somehow become deaf over night if they hadn't heard me coming down the stairs. I could always be heard coming up or down the stairs because of how hard I stomped on them. Mom always said it's a wonder that the stairs are still standing with me around.

It now seemed to me I was gonna have to do one of the rare things for me when, as I stood there, neither seemed to want to look up anytime soon so I made my presence known in the room. I cleared my throat and instantly my father looked out from a corner of the newspaper and my mom looked away from the frying pan, where she had just put an egg on.

Seeing me, my mom's face brightened with a smile. Her eyes filled with tears as she came over and hugged me. "My baby," she said clenching me to her as if I were a helpless infant again. "Mom," I said but didn't try to push her away or anything because I was afraid I'd hurt her feelings. Luckily my dad stepped in, "let the boy go Polly," he said. "I can't believe my first-born is 14 already," Mom said letting me go, "seems like just yesterday I held his bottle and rocked him to sleep."

I hated when my mom got like this. It happened every birthday with the 'Oh I can't believe my baby is'- 10, 11, 12, ECT. It happens every year and after that then came the tears. I'm not even gonna tell you what happened when she found out I had started going through puberty. But anyways, she is my mom and although she can be a bit embarrassing at times I love her.

As if my mom had read my mind she seemed to calm herself down and said, "Well you're not a baby anymore but you'll always be my baby." I found my mom's word's surprisingly touching and I hugged her. My dad said nothing and went back to reading the paper. I figured his grudge against me was still being held. He was stubborn but would probably come around during the party…I hoped.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When seeing a table-full of gifts all for you your first intension is always to open the bigger ones first because the bigger they are the better the present. This is what I thought when my mom said it was time to open presents. I grabbed the biggest one on the dining room table first only to be stopped by my mom. She shook her head and said, "Open the smaller ones first." She picked up a present that was about 10 times smaller than the one I was holding. Reluctantly I put the gift back and took the one mom was holding. It was a rather small and was wrapped in a girly red wrapping paper with white flower patterns all over it. I knew the present was not in a box of any kind, obviously, because when I held it I could feel the hard edge of the object that was in the shape of a circle.

There was a note taped to the present but gave me no indication who it was from. It read: _"To the person that will always have a special place in my heart. I will always believe in you as you believe in yourself. Always tread the paths that you know are right. From the bird you set free."_ I read the note twice just to make sure I hadn't skipped over a name by accident but didn't find a single one. "Mom is this from you and dad?" I asked her looking up. She shook her head confused, "No, why is there a name on that one?" I shook my head. She stared hard at the gift in my hands for a second. I wasn't sure what she was thinking until she said, "Oh, now I remember. That one came in the mail this morning. It's from my mother; she had said she was sending it by mail because she couldn't come." "Why did she say she was a bird then?" I wanted to ask but a second before I could open my mouth my Uncle Miles stuck a video camera right in my face. "Come on Tiger let's see what's inside that present."

I didn't like it when I was called 'Tiger' it sounded to babyish to me. I would much rather be called something like 'Wolf Man' like David and Thomas do, or even 'Big One' like my mom does, than be called 'Tiger' by anyone. I didn't tell any of this to Uncle Miles as I ripped the note off the wrapping paper and stuffed it into my pocket. I made a mental note to call and ask grandma about it later. I tore open the rest of the red paper and stared at what it concealed. It was a small dream catcher. The inner canvas that was attached to the outer circular part had a picture of a grey wolf howling at a full moon on it whom stood in the darkness of a blue colored night. "'Wolf'-'Wolff,'" I thought immediately knowing comical meaning of the dream catcher.

"Oh, isn't that nice!" my mom said in an astonished voice. She took it from me and showed it to everyone. While they were all getting a look at my new dream catcher I noticed Alex wasn't there. The last time I saw him, I remembered suddenly, was right after dad was called to a business meeting at work. BTW, I wasn't very enthusiastic about dad leaving, but I knew I would have to let it go, whether I liked it or not.

Since we were in the dining room and the staircase was like right there it was really easy for me to slip away. Once I was on the third step of the stairs it was even easier since the wall covered me the rest of the way up; and after that all I needed to do was walk slowly up them in the hopes I wouldn't be heard, of course I was. "Nat where are you going?" I heard mom say and I turned slightly on the step I was on so I could see her below. "I'm going to get Alex," I told her. She nodded, "well hurry up-remember these are your guests."

I went up to my brother's bedroom. The door stood cracked open so with a knock on it I walked in. Alex sat on his bed staring out his window. He had on an old shirt I had given him. He glanced up at me as I walked over and sat down next to me then looked back out the window. It was a cloudy day out and cold that's why the party was moved inside. "Do you wanna come downstairs with everyone else?" I asked him. He shrugged. "Anything wrong?" I asked him. The only time I ever saw him act like this was when he was sick or upset. "I don't know. I just don't feel like it right now," he said softly. "Why not? I'm opening my presents right now and there's Oreo ice-cream cake," I said in a tempting voice. I knew how much Alex loved ice cream cake. "I don't want cake right now," he said in the same soft tone as before.

Okay now I know something's definably wrong. I put my hand on his forehead. "You're burning up!" I exclaimed taking my hand away. "Am not," he muttered. I didn't wanna argue with him so I just went downstairs to tell my mom that he was ill. Mom came up and checked his temperature and told him to stay in bed. I went back down to birthday party and tried to have a good time. With my brother sick and my dad at work it didn't really seem like one of those days to get close to my family anymore.

I put away my new things in drawers, on shelves, and in my closet. The coolest thing I got was a new Wii. I hadn't open the actual box yet so I just put the whole thing in my closet and planned to open it tomorrow. It was about 10:00 at night. I had promised my mom I would hang up that dream catcher Grandma got me so I got to it.

"The gift is pretty pointless," I thought picking it up off my bureau and examining it again, "why on Earth would I ever need this?" I studied a small piece of metal that was attached to it. Squinting, my eyes I could see some form of writing I didn't understand. "Probably some Native American language," I decided and put the dream catcher down to go find some string.

I flopped down on my bed about 10:45 and put my hands behind my head, staring up at the dream catcher turning slowly on the string. I heard my bedroom door open and close. I looked over and saw my mom standing in front of the closed door. She came over to me and sat next to me on the bed. "Your father is deeply sorry he couldn't be at your birthday party today," she told me," he asked me to ask you what would you like to do for your birthday, it'll be just you and him." I shrugged my shoulders and said nothing. She knew I had good reason to be upset so she didn't go any further on the subject.

"That was nice of your grandmother to send you that," she said looking up at the dream catcher with a smile. Even though I didn't think much of it I nodded. "Maybe you'll dream of something special tonight," she said then added it with a small laugh. "Yeah and pigs fly," I thought but just nodded to her again. I didn't wanna hurt my mom's feelings so I decided against my first thoughts of taking it down.

It was around midnight when I finally slid under the covers of my bed. I stared up at the dream catcher. The small piece of metal reflected against the light of my lamp. I reached over onto my bedside table and turned the lamp off. I stared up and the ceiling for what seemed like hours. I was now 14. The most carefree part of my life was almost over. I bit my lip and forced myself not to think way. My most carefree day of the year was over. Though I still had Christmas to look forward to my birthday was always the best.

Eventually sleep came over me like a fog on a cloudy day. My eye lids felt like they weighed tons as I closed them and less than a minute later I fell asleep.

I woke up blurry-eyed. My vision was vague and I could only see the forms of shapes that were like an inch from my face. Something wet came down on my forehead and ran all the way to the back of my neck in three furious licks. Furry objects surrounded me and in a distance the lone howl of a wolf sounded, echoing into my ears to the point where they throbbed.

I clenched my eyes shut then opened them again; this time seeing bright sunshine streaming in on my orange wall, clearly. My ears still rang and I was coated in a cold sweat. I looked up at the dream catcher as it spun slowly and the light glinted off the small piece of metal.

* * *

_**A.N-**_** So today was official my final day of middle school! All my teachers were the best and I'm going to miss them so much. I don't like the idea of going to a completly new school next school term, but at least most of my friends will be there. :) **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I expect this assignment to be in the day you come back from the winter holidays," Mr. Crenshaw, the 8th grade history teacher, said handing out papers to each student. The entire class let out a groan at once. "Homework on the holidays, okay Crenshaw's lost it," I thought looking over the requirements of the essay. I rolled my eyes when I saw that I was to pick the topic. I hated when teachers did that-now I would have to think about which topic as well as how to write about it.

"Now I would like for you all to pick a topic that you think will be the topic on midterms," Mr. Crenshaw said, "This way you can double your chances of acing those tests. Yes Sir?" I looked up and saw who Mr. Crenshaw was talking to; it was Gabriel Mills. "What if we pick the wrong topic?" he asked, "I mean if we pick the wrong topic we've wasted all our valuable time studying the wrong thing." There were murmurs and inputs of agreement.

"Well then, uh," I could tell Mr. Crenshaw was thinking the assignment over because he shifted from one foot to the other and paused. After a brief moment Mr. Crenshaw said, "Okay, fine, I expect a three page essay on chapter 17 in my hand when you come back from the holidays. This assignment will have nothing to do with finals but you should treat it as it is important." "Aren't we suppose to treat every assignment _as if_ it were important," Gabriel said with the same cocky grin he always played on his face. I rolled me eyes again, expecting Mr. Crenshaw's words any moment. "Mr. Mills," Mr. Crenshaw said sternly, "I will not tolerate any disruptions in this classroom and you can think about that this afternoon in detention." "And there is." I looked at Gabriel, the smile was gone from his face and there was no doubt in my mind it wouldn't be returning, at least not today.

The weird sickness that overcame Alex the day of my birthday was gone. When I got home that day he was out on the sidewalk skate boarding with Carter Wilson and Juanita Mendez. I greeted the three with a wave and continued inside.

Rosalina hadn't walked home with me that day because her dad had come to pick her up from school. She asked if I wanted to ride with them, but I had turned it down. Now that I think back on it that was a pretty stupid idea, right? I had turned down a ride home that could have saved me about twenty minutes of my time.

I went upstairs to my room without a single interception from my parents. They were obviously somewhere around because they would never leave Alex home alone even if he did have friends over-wait, especially if he had friends over. I dumped my backpack full of books on the floor and went straight to my computer to check my e-mail.

I found I only had one message and it was from Billy Mason. It read: _"The party last weekend was so sick! I can't believe you missed it. I hope you can make the next big one :)."_ "Yeah, me to," I thought to myself, "and I hope my parents won't get in the way of it." I logged out of my account then turned off my computer. (I wasn't supposed to be on it yet anyways. I was still grounded until next Monday.) I grabbed my algebra book out of my backpack and sat down on the floor with it, two sheets of paper, a pencil, and my clipboard. I then opened the textbook up to page 158 and set to work on the problems.

I went upstairs after dinner at about 8:00. My dad had told me he had asked for a vacation next weekend and they could all go to a theme park or something. I'm betting its Six Flags-we always go there.

I went up to the study room. I switched on the light as I entered the room. I went over to the bookcase and located _'To Kill A Mockingbird'_ which I needed for Literature Class the next day. I had to read the next four chapters for the night's homework. (Oh, gee so fun). We had so far only read part of chapter 1 and you guys already know how books are at the very beginning: jammed packed with background information about the characters and very little action at all.

With the book in hand I returned to my room. My math textbook and various sheets of papers, that needed to be picked up, littered the floor. I tossed my book onto my bed. I knew I would go to sleep reading that and I didn't want mom mad at me for leaving my room a mess so I began to pick up my school materials and dumped them back into my backpack. Then I placed my backpack in my closet and sat down on my bed.

I remember opening my book and beginning to read but after that nothing I can remember is that clear. I can remember the feeling of impatience coursing through me and a want to run as fast and as hard as I could and never stop.

I woke up the next morning with _'To Kill A Mockingbird'_ lying open on my face. The farthest I had gotten was page 10. Dang it! The assignment was to read to page 43. Now I would definably have to read in spare class time instead of talking with my friends.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Alex is sick again. I came home and could hear him coughing from his room. He didn't sound too bad, but mom probably is still gonna keep him inside the next couple of days.

I had less homework than I had expected for the night. I only had half a page of math homework and two more chapters of _'To Kill A Mockingbird' _to read. I got a lucky break today; Mr. Feeny, my LIT teacher, wasn't even there! He didn't leave much class work so I read the chapters I hadn't gotten to yet.

Anyways, I finished my math homework at about 5:00. I had even finished the reading assignment before putting my stuff away in my closet for the night. I didn't feel like risking more grounding so I didn't turn on my computer at all.

Instead I decided to go check on Alex. I went across the hall and saw the door was already partially open. I peered inside to see Alex asleep in his bed. (Well I guess doing something with him was out.)

I went back to my room and shut the door behind me. I felt kind of tired and there was nothing else to do so I decided to take a nap until dinner time. Taking a nap really wasn't one of my normal things of doing, but hey, what happens next isn't either.

The feeling of impatience came over me once more and the urge to run was stronger than ever. I wanted to run as fast as I could and never stop. The feeling was so strong I could actually feel myself running, almost flying over terrain. Then suddenly a dark shadow appeared in front of me and a stinging pain on my back caused me to yelp and collapse to the ground. I sent up a cloud of dust as I fell. Gathering my remaining energy I spun around to face my opponent. As he stepped forward the dust began to clear.

There standing in front was a full-grown wolf. He was a rust-like brown with long claws to tear up anything. He had an ear that was nipped on one side from a possibly play fight gone to rough. When he looked at me directly I noticed his top fang on his right side protruding through his lips.

The wolf began to approach me and I struggled to get away, but something seemed to be wrong with my legs; I couldn't stand up. I looked down and to my astonishment found four russet colored dog-like paws. On one of them the claw looked to be torn from my fall and was bleeding badly.

I could feel my fur coat prickle as the wolf stopped directly over me. "What are you doing here?" The wolf demanded. His tone was strong, but had no anger within it; unlike his amber eyes, which were narrowed at me. "I am sorry," I said apologetically, backing away. I didn't want to fight him, but I willed myself to say in thought that if he tried to fight me I'd shred him. "You should know this by now bee-brain: Juveniles can't go anywhere outside camp without an adult," the wolf, which I now realized must be older than me, barked. "Or do you need your mother to keep an eye on you Snail Skin," the Wolf taunted. "Snail Skin," I thought angrily, "okay this dream or whatever has already been bad enough without this mangy canine talking to me like this. My own parents don't even talk to me this way!" "Well if I'm not allowed out here you shouldn't be either. What are you doing here?" The stranger's fur bristled and he looked as though he was about to give me a good hit but instead he stepped closer to me and growled, "You better watch yourself pup. You may be next in line to be Alpha but that doesn't give you the right to speak to older wolves that way. And for what _'I'm'_ doing out here I am scouting to see how far man has come into our territory."

A spark of question filled me. Was I anywhere near home, my family? It had only been a short time since I last saw them but I missed them. "Where are man living?" I spoke aloud. The older wolf gave me a questioning look. A cold breeze came between us and tore into our fur. I felt chilled to the bone until it passed a moment later.

"At the edge of the river, several feet down from the direction you came. Didn't you see them?" The wolf asked. His eyes had softened to worry as he waited for me to answer. I hadn't seen a thing but forest so I shook my head. The canine took one paw step toward me. His powerful muscles tensed, "Don't lie to me," he growled, "You know if man moves too far into our territory they'll drive us out." I flattened my ears against my head and lowered my gaze. "I'm not lying," I said. It felt odd to me to be subdued so easily by this wolf like he was my father. My father was back home…wherever that was.

I heard the sound of bushes shuddering but I did not dare look to see what had caused it. "Han that is enough," said a voice that sounded like it belonged to someone of grandparent age. "This doesn't concern you Aquene," The wolf, who I now knew was called Han, said. "As long as it concerns this pup is does concern me," Aquene said, "I will take him back and you can continue on scouting the territory." I dared to look up from the ground at Han. He was staring past me. I knew that must be where Aquene was standing. Han looked as though he would disagree, but with a small growl from Aquene he quickly thought against it. He gave Aquene a curt nod then with a glance at me he walked passed me and continued his way through the forest.

I waited until Han's paw steps had faded then turned around. I came face-to-face with Aquene. I had been right about him being of a senior's age, but he didn't look like any elder I had ever seen before. He was a strong, muscular silver grey wolf. Unlike Han, Aquene's fangs were all hidden. His only flaw seemed to be his left front paw. He was holding it off the ground but it didn't seem broken to me.

"Greetings Guyapi," Aquene said looking directly at me. 'That's not my name' was what I really wanted to say, but if I were in a different body wouldn't that mean I would have a different name? "Um…greetings Aquene," I tried not to be hesitate but it was hard since I didn't really know what to say. "Minco and Talulah are worried sick about you," Aquene informed me, "they were sure that pack of man had killed you for food." _"Was that why I was running so fast?"_ "Is there something you want to say?" Aquene asked. He stared at me awaiting an answer so I did the only thing I could think of, I lied.

"I was just heading back to the pack," I said. Aquene studied me for a moment then dipped his head. "I will lead you," he said and began to walk east of the direction I had been running. Now that I think back on that moment I noted that Aquene must have taken notice that I had been headed the wrong direction because they way he walked up on Han and I was the direction I had just come.

* * *

_**A.N-**_** The reason why Nat is a wolf in his dream has nothing to do with his name. If you're having trouble pronouncing the names here's how I pronounce the hard ones for this chapter: (Han= Hawn), (Aquene= uh-kin-a), (Guyapi= Gu-yapi) **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I followed Aquene until we reached a small clearing. The clearing was filled with holes dug deep by persistent paws. I could feel my right ear twitch when I heard the sound of paws pounding toward me. I expected to see Han a heartbeat later wanting to finish pounding me to the ground. Instead a light tan colored female came bounding over to me. "Guyapi you're alright!" she exclaimed pressing her muzzle against mine, "I thought I wouldn't see you again."

I glanced over at Aquene, who said nothing as the female began to fuss over me. She pressed her tongue between my ears and ran it down the back of my neck in three quick rasps. Sudden memory of one of my previous dreams came back to me, the blurred surroundings with the feeling of comfort and warmth all around me. My eyes widened, "Talulah?" "Yes sweetheart?" Her brown eyes reminded me of someone very close to me, but everything else about her seemed completely foreign. "Minco and your sisters will be so happy.

A breeze came through the clearing cutting though my fur again. I shivered. "Are you cold?" Talulah asked, "Let's go underground, you can rest there." As Talulah led me away I notice that Aquene had disappeared.

I was led down the biggest burrow hole in the clearing. The earth the entrance tunnel was shaped out of seemed surprisingly solid. The ground under-paw was moist, "That must be what is holding it together," I thought. The long tunnel ended with three extending tunnels to choose from. Talulah chose the one to the farthest left and continued walking. The light from the sun was unable to reach us at this point and the only thing that gave me reassurance that she was still there were the sounds of her paw steps and soft breathing.

The tunnel ended with a round room. It was dimly lit by what looked like to me to be glow worms hanging from the seeing casting down a pale green light. Talulah padded over to furry object and gave it a nudge with her paw. "Shilah," she whispered, "Shilah wake up." I watched a dark coated wolf roll over on his back to face Talulah and me. He was smaller than I was and his coat was tainted with the dirt and dust from the tunnels. He yawned then blinked several times to clear his gaze. He didn't seem to notice I was in the room at all fore he was looking directly at Talulah. "We found Guyapi," Talulah said softly, "he's all right. All he needs is a little rest and he'll be his full self again." Shilah nodded but made no notion he was going to speak when he laid his head down on his paws and shut his eyes.

"Guyapi? Would you like to speak to Shilah while I go inform Minco?" Talulah asked. I paused. Should I say 'yes' or 'no'? If I say no would it disrespect Shilah? But what about if I say yes; I knew nothing about this wolf, what would I need to talk about? He was bound to know I was an imposter if I talked to him. What should I do?

I didn't get the choice of choosing because a moment later Shilah's tail rose in my direction and he gestured for me to come. I knew I had to go over now.

I put one paw in front of the other and sat down next to the stranger. Shilah lifted his head again. I could faintly see the dark pupils within his eyes as he gave me a short look-over. "You look fine," he said, "she's making too much of a fuss." "Well I was chased by man," I said remembering what Aquene had said. Shilah made a slight scoffing sound and got up from his resting spot. "Doesn't make a difference," he huffed, walking away.

I didn't want to be left down here alone! I don't even remember which tunnels to take. I gathered myself quickly and followed Shilah. "He's gonna ask why I'm following him," I thought, "Guyapi probably can find his way out of here with his eyes closed." I thought quickly and decided to continue our conversation. "Well what if I had been killed?" I asked. "That's the way of the wild the toughest survive," Shilah answered. "I'm tough," I responded with a sneeze. "How do they stand it down here? This dust is killing me," I wondered. "Well if you weren't tough you wouldn't have gotten away," Shilah agreed as we stepped out into fresh evening air.

The sun was already beginning to set. Its rays cast our shadows on the ground. Shilah shook clouds of dust from his coat and I had to take a few steps away from him to avoid being engulfed in it myself. I could here the sound of footsteps running and I looked in the direction it was coming from. Several wolves were racing over toward us at full speed. I didn't know whether they were friend or foe, but how Shilah hadn't even bothered to take a second to look up from his grooming reassured me it was okay.

A light brown female wolf galloped over to me and immediately began to swamp my muzzle with licks. "I'm so glad you're back," she said between licks. I tried to back away slowly but she continued to take steps forward. Only when a rather large male said, "That's enough Lilac," did she stop.

The male was as dark as the bark on the tree trunks and had the most flawless appearance I had seen. And it wasn't just his coat that surprised me; this guy looked like the wolf version of the Hulk! His shoulders stood at least 2 inches taller than any of the other older wolves. I don't know how or why I thought this but I knew it instantly, looking at this massive creature in the eyes, his eyes burning into mine, I knew this must be Minco, my father.

"Nat, wake up!" I woke up to being shaken awake by my dad. I wiped my eyes. I was awake; really awake this time. It felt like I was literally lying in a puddle of my own sweat. I blinked away the remaining sleep in my eyes and looked at my dad. "Are you okay?" he asked me. Besides being soaked I felt no different than before I fell asleep. I gazed up at dad and nodded. He put the back of his hand to my forehead then after a few seconds pulled it away. "You don't have a fever," he reported, "but do you feel ill in any way?" Again I felt absolutely nothing wrong with me so I shook my head.

He looked pretty unsure whether or not he should let me off the hook so easily, but if I said I wasn't sick I wasn't and he trusted my word. "Okay well can you go change for dinner? You're soaking wet and that's no way to show up for a family dinner," he instructed me.

I only half listened to the last few things my dad said to me before he left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I got off my bed and went to my bureau and got out a plain black shirt. My pants weren't as badly soaked so I didn't grab another pair of jeans or anything. I was about to leave the room when out of the corner of my eye the window caught my attention. I don't know why; that window has been there as long as I've had this room, but for some reason at that moment I had this need to go to it. I was going to fight the urge so I wouldn't be any later to dinner than I was already gonna be, but I felt my legs going over to it anyways. I placed my shirt on my bed and went over to sit on the edge of the window sill.

I could still feel Minco's eyes on me. "He looked angry," I realized in thought, "how can one wolf have so much anger in there eyes that way. It wasn't natural." I tried to make the images of my encounter with Minco disappear. It was a dream and it was over now. I looked up at the stars, well what I could see of them. I've always wished Manhattan had fewer lights than it does. I've always wanted to see the constellations the skies held during the night. Unfortunately the only things I could see were a few pale stars and bright full moon that was just beginning to rise from the horizon. I stared at the circular ball of white light in a mesmerized thought. What would happen if for one moment one day all the lights just went out for no reason? Would that unveil the mysterious wonders that lied beyond our houses and the grounds we were used to? And even if it did would it make a difference in our lives and would it be for better or for worse?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Hey Nat, do you think you can come over my house after school?" Rosalina asked me during lunch on Monday afternoon. I'm glad to say I haven't had another dream where I entered anyone else's body. I decided not to tell anyone about it since it was a little crazy and a little hard to believe, okay incredibly hard to believe. I mean why should anyone believe it was any more than a dream?

"Probably, I don't think we're doing anything important this evening," I replied. "I am so psyched for the holidays, two and ½ weeks of no school!" she said happily. "Same here," I agreed. There was nothing better I could think of right then. The Christmas holidays was always the best thing of the year: the anticipation of opening presents, parades, and a fireworks show to top it all off. With all that I really didn't want this stupid essay assignment making my vacation horrible.

"I'll meet you at your locker," I said. She nodded and the bell sounded announcing our lunch time was over. "Just don't get detention again," she said as in her way to say bye and with an armful of books began to walk away. I waved at her once we were at the end of the hall that led to the stairs that separated the schools.

I tried to stay awake in Literature Class during a lecture about the book we were reading but it seemed impossible. Why did we even have to have a lecture on the book? What; did Mr. Feeny not plan any lessons today? I sat back in my chair and struggled to keep my eyes open the rest of class time.

I don't know how long the lecture continued but when I was aware of my surroundings again Mr. Feeny was standing right in front of my desk. He stared down at me with hard blue eyes. I could tell he was mad so I sat up quickly. "I would appreciate it if you stayed conscious in my class Mr. Wolff," he said. I was surprised when he walked away directly after saying that. There was no 'detention Mr. Wolff' or 'go to the principal's office Mr. Wolff' of even 'your parents are gonna hear about this Mr. Wolff'. And Mr. Feeny was one of the teachers best known for telling their students' parents when they found the students' behavior inappropriate. Mr. Feeny then started again where he had left off on his lecture.

"I fell asleep in Mr. Feeny's class," I informed Rosalina as she came to her locker. I was right on time, as I always was. She looked upset but the gossip of Mr. Feeny not giving a kid detention for sleeping during one of his never-ending-lectures was too good a topic to turn up for her.

"What did he do to you after that?" she asked as she closed her locker and we began to walk down the hall together. "Nothing," I answered, "it was weird he just went back to talking like he had never caught me asleep in the first place. He didn't even ask me to stay after class." "Well I guess luck was on your side today," Rosalina said smiling. I nodded in agreement, "you can say that again."

Mr. Feeny has been a teacher at Amigos Middle School for six years now and a teacher for almost seventeen. In this time he had seen just about it all. Students came and went, but always left behind to him the memories of what they put him through, no matter if they were an excellent well-behaved student or not.

Again Mr. Feeny had truly thought he'd seen every personality a student can have until he met fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Wolff. Nathaniel was a peculiar person to him when they first met. A look into his background told he was the son of an actress and a Jazz musician. And even the slightest look in his eyes said this was as well- he has a burning ambition to grasp his position in the business of the fine arts. He would do anything to practice in the department until he became classified as one of the best. This is why when Nathaniel fell asleep in his class Mr. Feeny knew something was wrong. Nathaniel would never fall asleep in his class especially when his future career was a stake.

So he continued to think about this until he got home for the evening. As he sat down in his study he finally made a decision and found his current students' contact list and went down the list until he found the name Nathaniel Wolff.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"I still have no clue what I want to write about," I whispered irritably to Rosalina. This is not how I wanted to spend my Monday evening. Right after school Rosalina had dragged me down to the library saying 'it's better to finish stuff early than risk having them over-due.' It was true but who knew it would be so difficult to find a topic. It was about 5:00 and we had been in the library since like 3:45.

Rosalina was sitting at the table with me reading a book for literature class. "You know you could help me," I said. "When I'm writing an essay I always pick a topic I know very little on so I can learn about it," she said, "what is your class learning about now?" "The Great Depression, but we already have a project coming up for that, "I answered closing a book on the topic.

After reading for more than an hour I was tired and wanted to go home. So for today the assignment was put off again. I gathered the four books I had laid out and went to put them back on their shelves.

Later on that day I was on my computer checking my email. I had gotten messages from Billy, Jamie, and Nathan, but they weren't really important. I was about to sign off when I notice another new message in my inbox. I didn't recognize the address and figured it was probably a spam until I saw my name was in the title. I opened it figuring it was from someone I knew who had a new address, but as I saw what it said a heavy feeling hit my stomach.

_Dear Nat, _

_I could feel your paws as they treaded on the soil of my home fore I was the one who sent for you. Some people in this world do things just to get a simple 'thank you,' but there are others where what they have done there is no thanks to give only the value of hate, despair, and anger is in its place. Don't do the right things for a thank you Aquene do it because of family. _

_Love,_

_The Bird You Set Free _

I held the phone to my ear nervously. I could feel myself shaking from the words that were imprinted in my mind. I listened to the phone ring for a few minutes, giving her time to reach it. Finally the answering machine came on, I hung up and sighed. If Grandma wasn't home how did she send the message? Wait!

I ran back to my computer. The anonymous message was still on the screen when I entered the room. I glanced over at the alarm clock on my bedside table, it read 5:56. Then I looked at the message. A sickening feeling came to my stomach as I saw the time on the message was the time it was now.

"That's probably just a glitch. It happens sometimes," Rosalina said the next day at lunch. She seemed to not be anymore worried about my mysterious sender as she was about what she was having for dinner tonight.

I didn't continue because I knew she would only make me feel even more like an idiot, being worried over what was probably 'joke mail'. If it weren't happening to me I would probably be laughing at that person, but it was me.

I said goodbye to Rosalina earlier than usual so I could go get my LIT book from my locker. When I had finally found my LIT book at the bottom of my cluttered locker there was only 10 minutes of lunch time left. I decided I would go back to the cafeteria and see if Rosalina was still there, but I also decided I was going to take my time getting there.

As I passed by Mr. Feeny's classroom I heard Mr. Feeny call my name. Honestly I wanted to pretend like I hadn't heard him because I didn't want to spend the last 10 minutes of my free time with a teacher, but I knew that wouldn't be right. I walked in the classroom to find my literature teacher seated behind his desk.

Mr. Feeny was an average looking man. His hair was a dark graying color. He always wore a suit and tie to work even though he rarely had anything of importance to do. He was ill tempered sometimes but not as much as most people would say.

Feeny gave me a long, hard look as I stood in front of his desk. The only thing I could think of was _'What did I do?'_ Of course I was surprised when he broke the silence and said, "Are you alright Mr. Wolff?" "Yes I feel fine," I told him. I didn't know why he would ask me that. Had I acted as if something was wrong in class yesterday? "Is that so?" he asked rhetorically and paused. "Well I'll have you know I did call your parents yesterday but no one was home. Is there anything you have to say about that?" I bit my lip, a call from a teacher-I'm dead. "I was at the library with Rosalina Tai until 5:00. I didn't get home until 5:30. My mom and dad took my brother to the doctor so they weren't home when I got in," I explained.

Mr. Fenny nodded in a way that I knew he accepted the excuse. "Tell them I will be calling again tonight around 9:00, okay?" I nodded, "can I go back to lunch now?" "Yes, but you only have 6 minutes left," he warned. "It's okay I just need to go tell someone something."

"Don't be late for class." Were the last words I heard from him as I exited the room. By all attentions I planned on being early to Feeny's class that day. I was going to ask Rosalina could I have dinner over at her house that night then come straight back; my parents had already told me to do so because they were going to take care of Alex and didn't have time to make anything, but unfortunately for me I never got a chance to.

The last things I remember from that day were the white walls and green floor of the hallway in front of me then total blackness.

* * *

**_A.N- _Haven't had that much time to write lately but hopefully that'll change soon. I've decided on continuing two stories I started in 7th grade but never finished them, expect them to be posted by Christmas Holidays. If you haven't seen my new NBB video yet on Youtube it's on my main channel, FireheartedZanessa, and it uses the song 'Boulevard Of Broken Dreams' by Green Day. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The warm smell of raspberries was wafted into my face repeatedly as I overcame my sleepiness. A voice whispered to my ear-blurry at first, then clearer, and clearer. "Guyapi…Guyapi….Guyapi." _"No, no I can't be,"_ were my first thoughts in hearing that name again. I opened my eyes in horror to find a rather small looking tan she-wolf standing in front of me. Her playful amber eyes were staring down at me. After a moment I realized I had met this wolf before. Yes, I remembered on my last visit she ran up to me and frightened me. I couldn't remember her name so I hoped it wouldn't matter.

"You sure have been sleeping a long time," the she-wolf said, "Talulah was worried you wouldn't be back by sun set so she sent me to fetch you." "Talulah's my mother here," I reminded myself. The wolf pressed her muzzle against mine. "I was so worried about you when you and Minco were attacked," she said. I gathered myself to my paws. "Well that's over now," I replied, "can we go home now?" I don't know why I asked that. I didn't really want to go 'home'. The only home that lied here for me was dirty old hole in the ground. Why was I being tortured?

The she-wolf nodded, "yes Guyapi." She turned and started walking north from where we were standing.

Ahead of us pine-looking trees stood tall with brown pine leaves where the green ones should be. It was quite cold out but luckily the clear blue sky showed no sign of rain or snow. As the grass ended it gave way to brown dirt showered with the long creeping limbs of tree roots. I struggled over them, but even with my greatest efforts I tripped and ended up hitting my neck on a tree root. I reared up on my back legs in pain then toppled over onto my back.

I rolled my eyes as I heard my companion laughing at me. I rolled over and got back to my paws. "It's not funny," I said, my voice a little hoarse from the fall. "Yes it is," she said continuing to laugh, "you and Kenai are exactly alike: when you wakeup you could walk off a cliff because you're not paying attention to where you're walking!" I rolled my eyes again as short barks of laughter continued to come out of her.

Finally, with tears in her hazel eyes, she said, "Okay let's go." I put one paw forward but quickly drew it back. Someone was watching us. I looked around, but I could only see pine trees, and I could only hear the sound of our breathing. "What is it Guyapi?" the wolf asked. I didn't know how to answer. Someone was watching us; I could feel it.

Suddenly a branch snapped from behind us. We both spun around but saw nothing. The light tan fur of the female began to rise. A growl rumbled in her throat. "Guyapi we need to get home now!" she barked.

Suddenly an arrow sailed towards us. I ducked quickly as it went over my head and hit the tree behind me. "Guyapi run!" I only heard the words vaguely as the sounds of yelling and running surrounded us then silence and darkness enclosed its grip on me.

I woke up as I was jabbed with an object causing a sharp pain in my shoulder. I yelped in pain and opened my eyes. A brown skinned boy was holding a rather large stick in my face. He jabbed my nose with it. I let out a yelp and got to my paws. I started to run but was held back. I looked beside me and found I had been tied to a tree with some sort of rope.

The boy let out a laugh. "It's not funny," I felt like saying but of course he wouldn't understand. A man came over to me. This one was taller and older. He was wearing formal looking clothing. He stared down at me with soft eyes. "Hello little _Nashoba_," he said. He reached out to pet my head but pulled it away as I began to growl. I didn't want him to pet my head. I didn't want to be here and I definably didn't want to be anyone's pet. I just wanted to go home.

"No ofi Aki," said the boy. The man shook his head and said something to the boy. It was then I realized I knew what they were saying, well at least the real Guyapi's ears did. "No dog my father," said the boy. "No Dakota this is a wolf and a wolf is not a pet," the man replied. "But father…," Dakota said in an almost whining voice. "No buts. You know your mother and I have a lot to worry about right now and we don't need you and your sister prancing around with a nashoba to top it all off," the man said sternly, "now go on and play with your friends." I was surprised when Dakota walked away without even making the slightest notion he wanted to argue. If it were me I would have been so ticked off and I would have showed it. The man looked at me once more then walked off in a slightly different direction his son had taken.

When the moon was just about to rise I was thrown a piece of meat by one of the Native American men. It was a different man than the one that had come to see me earlier and his outfit was a little less formal than Dakota's father as well. He didn't look me in the eyes like the other man had but I looked at him.

As he walked away a dark black dog and creamy brown and white dog walked over to me. "Well what do we have here?" the black dog asked. I stood up and dipped my head in greeting, something I had learned from watching the dogs the past few hours. "My name is Guyapi and I am-" "You're a wolf," the dog muttered, narrowing his eyes, "you don't belong here." The other dog pushed her companion with her shoulder. "It's nice to meet you Guyapi," she said, "Don't mind Fala. He's such a pest. Sometimes I wonder is that why his name is 'Fala', crows are such pests sometimes! And you do know Fala is actually a girl's name right?" I shook my head. "Well you do now," she said and cruelly laughed at her friend.

I looked at Fala. If he was hurt by these words he didn't show it. He sat down calmly and said, "You'll have to excuse my mate Isi. She can be quite crude sometimes." He glared at the female. "Well what are you doing here?" Fala asked me. Before I could think of anything to say the words flowed out of me. "I was with my sister, Lilac, when we were attacked by _your_ humans," I replied. "_Our_ human?" Isi laughed again when honestly I didn't see anything funny. "We only have two humans. The rest of them are not our humans they're some other dog's…." Her voice trailed as she stared at something in the distance. I looked in the direction she was staring and found a familiar face among a group of five children. "Looks like you have company," Isi said as the children approached us, "we will see you later." I nodded and Isi and Fala galloped off into the camp leaving me to face the group of explorers.

I saw that the group consisted of four boys and one girl, whom seemed to be a lot younger than her male companions. The boy who had come with his father to see me earlier came up and sat down just where my rope could not reach. He showed no fear as I walked over to examine him. The other members of his group stood back wide-eyed as Dakota and I sat near each other, our eyes locked for what seemed like minutes.

Finally the silence was broken by the little girl. "Dakota is this nashoba going to be our ofi?" she asked. Dakota's eyes disappeared as he turned to the girl. "Chenoa do you really think mother and father are going to let us keep a wolf? And the white men's children already think we're different, if they see us walking around with a wolf as if it were a dog they would think we're mad." "But father says it's okay to be different," Chenoa argued. "Yes it is okay to be different," Dakota agreed, "just not around the white men." I wasn't really listening to anything they were saying, I was to busy looking at a bronze piece on Dakota's clothes. I stretched forward but still couldn't see exactly what it was.

Suddenly Dakota's father raced over to us. He shouted at his son then continued in such a low voice I couldn't hear it. Chenoa looked from me to her brother and father then went over to them. "But father," she said, "I wanted to come see the wolf. Dakota was just honoring my request. Can I keep him as a pet father, please?" Their father looked at his son then got down on one knee so he was a little closer to his daughter. "Chenoa this is a wolf, not a dog, therefore not a pet," he said in a reasoning tone. "But Afo says wolves and dogs are kin," Chenoa replied. Chenoa's father looked as if he were very annoyed after that remark but he sighed and said, "I will ask your mother and if she says yes the wolf will have to prove himself to us that he is a good wolf." He glanced over at me while saying this. A big grin spread across Chenoa's face as she threw her arms around her father. Dakota joined in the hug just as happy with Chenoa's accomplishment. "You hear that wolf?" Dakota said looking at me, "you might become one of us."

* * *

**_A.N- _Happy birthday Alex. I can't believe he turns 13 today. I'm making a video for him but unfortunatly I haven't finished it yet. In this chapter words you might will have trouble with are: ofi- dog, nashoba- wolf. I'm not sure if how I'm pronouncing them is correct though so I won't provide pronunciation this time.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Those first few weeks afterward were excruciating. I won't ever know how I made it through. I was harnessed to a sled that contained a pile of logs and ordered to pull it to an area that pleased my master on almost a daily basis. 'Master' I was told by the few dogs that would talk to me that I was to call Dakota and Chenoa's father that since I was to become a part of their family if I could pass my rigorous challenges, but I must respect all men of the tribe.

Even though I could kill myself of how much my muscles ached from straining them in pulling, lifting, and some times even swimming I was told I was fortunate. If Chenoa and Dakota had not come along I would have probably been doomed to live the remainder of my life tied to a tree.

This was the inescapable fate of my sister. She had remained tied to the same tree since we arrived in camp. She was not given anything to eat or drink by most of the men in camp but a few with a kind heart would sneak her scraps of meat or a small bowl of water when they could, but it was not enough. She had become thin and frail in the time she had been here. Her shiny tan coat was now untidy and darkened by dust.

Her tree sat at the very edge of camp, quite close to the forest. This part of camp was not monitored all the time because there was a hill that was large enough to cover the tree to almost the height of the branches. This made my visits easy after I got passed the small open area between the camp and my sister's place.

On a couple of occasions I would bring something for us to share. One particular time I remember bringing a rabbit. She loved the taste of fresh rabbits. It was our twelfth day in camp. She was lying down, curled up on a patch of grass. "Sister?" I called, my voice muffled by the body of the rabbit. I unfortunately could not remember her name so as an alternative I had resorted to calling her 'sister' or 'sister dear'. She lifted her head. "Hello Guyapi," she said. Her eyes brightened when she saw what I was carrying. I went over to her and placed it in front of her. "Thank you Guyapi. How thoughtful," she said contentedly. "I made sure that I got you the best," I told her. This was partly true considering Dakota always gave me the best things to eat. "Thank you brother." I nodded in reply and sat down to watch her eat. "Don't you want some?" she asked after a while. I shook my head, "I already ate," I lied. I wanted her to have it all; she needed it more than I did. "Do you miss the pack?" she asked, "I mean with you training to be a dog and all you haven't forgotten who you really are, have you?" I didn't know how I could truthfully answer that. I didn't know who I really was in Guyapi's body. I shared very few of his memories and most of his family are no more than strangers to me. Although my eyes conceal the grim fact I shook my head. "No I have not forgotten about the pack. I'll always think of them." "Will you ever go back?" she asked. She seemed now more intrigued by our conversation than her meal. "If I have the chance I will visit them," I answered. She accepted the statement without any more question. "I need to go," I said after she had begun eating again. She nodded and said goodbye to me. I turned and was about to leave but stopped. "Sister?" She looked up. "Do you really like me calling you that?" I asked. She shrugged, "I don't mind," she said, "but I would rather you call me by my real name, Lilac."

Lilac was such a sweetheart. I only wish I had the chance to get to know her as well as Guyapi did. Unfortunately her destiny bestowed upon her by man caught up with her. Six days later, on our eighteenth day in camp she died of starvation. This was the unfortunate part of being a wolf. We were deeply hated and wished to death.

On my nineteenth day in camp I was taken out to hunt with Dakota, his father, and two other men. This was an unusual honor for canines to be taken out on a hunting party. Most dogs would trample through the undergrowth and bark loudly in enthusiasm. This wasn't me. My paws were made for this and as for barking-ha!-I did none of the sort. Instinct overcame me as I crept up to a young healthy grey rabbit. "This one's for you Lilac," I decided quickly as I pounced and killed the creature. "Well done wolf!" A man praised me. I beamed proudly. "You've got a great dog in the making Koi," the same man said to Dakota's father. Koi looked at me and unbelievably he nodded.

"He trusts me," I thought incredulously, "I've proven myself."

* * *

**_A.N- _I know I'm like two days late but happy late birthday to Nat! :) And I finally fixed the issue I was having with uploading my video so you can go see it now on my main channel, FireheartedZanessa. It's a full video just for Alex using the Green Day song 'Time of Your Life'. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Though my mission was to prove I wasn't a wild animal every night I was tied to my tree. I believe this was done only because Koi thought that if he didn't I wouldn't be there the next morning. That was never me. I wouldn't dream of causing trouble in camp and to the dogs that did I steered clear of them.

That night Koi released me from my tree. I had been sleeping but once he began to lead me I shrugged it off. He took me to where the people of camp would sit in a circle around a fire which they used for meetings, celebrations, and to speak with their God. Everyone looked up as we arrived. I could see the faces of Chenoa and Dakota in the light of the fire but Magena, their mother, was not with them. "She's probably sitting near the other women," I guessed.

Koi stopped outside of the circle; I stood next to him as he spoke. "A rare thing has happened here my friends," he said, "this wolf. Through his devilish mind he has found it within himself to become one of us." He glanced down at me then continued, "I now shall grant him with a name in his honor." "My name is Guyapi," I wanted to say. In the weeks I had been there I had become accustomed to hearing that name from the dogs I talked to. I now treated it as my own. I wanted to tell him this but I didn't have the tongue to do so. His eyes returned to mine and stayed, "From this day on you shall be known as Kitchi."

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**_A.N- _Sorry it's so short but this was actually only part of chapter 11. It was so long I cut this part out and the rest of chapter 11 is now chapter 12. I'm posting chapter 12 on New Years Day. Hope you enjoy and have a happy holiday! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

As days turned to weeks and weeks to exactly one year I counted each day marking mentally how many days I had been in camp. I counted months by seasons so by my calculations we should have been some where in October or November and Chenoa's birthday was coming up soon. I had seen Chenoa's mother, Magena, making her a new dress and Dakota was making bead necklaces for her.

I didn't know what her father was going to get her. He showed little interest in his daughter's birthday. He was too busy with controlling the camp. He had started spending long hours out at night, longer than usual. I knew I wasn't supposed to but on a few occasions I would sneak inside their cabin when all the men in camp were having a meeting around the fire. I would sleep near Dakota and Chenoa. Magena must have known I did this because I had to walk past her to get to her children but she never shooed me away. Maybe it had something to do with their father. I don't know. Everything seemed good, even though it could have been better, until it happened.

I woke up one morning and found that it had started to rain during the night. It was cold out but not cold enough for it to result in ice yet. I walked outside and yawned. With my thick wolf coat I didn't get too cold easily. I had been cooped up all day the day before with Dakota, Chenoa, and Magena because Koi had to leave camp with a group of other men from camp. They didn't say where they were going but they didn't get back to late that night. Now my paws were itching to run, to burn off all the excess energy they contained. So I bolted out into the cold rain, splashing through any puddles I could find.

I didn't know where I wanted to go so I sort of just let my paws lead me. "Hey Kitchi." I slowed my pace to a stop to greet Nita. The snow colored dog motioned for me to join her under a tree. "It's not as wet over here," she said. "I'm afraid you're too late for me," I joked walking over to her and sitting down. She let out a laugh. Nita had become one of my few canine companions in my first month in camp. She was an older dog which I only knew by the grey hairs that had begun to grow around her muzzle. She had the most piercing green eyes that I had ever seen. I've always thought those eyes didn't match the body they belonged to. They were bright and burning with the spirit of youth while Nita's coat said otherwise.

I notice she was missing a clump of fur on her shoulder. I wanted to ask her what happened but decided against it. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Nita asked. "No where in particular. I just wanted to go some where. I'll be back before I'm missed," I promised. Nita cocked her head slightly to one side. "Were you off to see your family?" she asked. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I had no intention of going to see the pack. I hadn't seen them in over a year. So why would she ask me this? I shook my head. "Why not?" she asked. I shifted uncomfortably. "Why?" I asked when I couldn't think of anything else to say. "Because I saw a wolf just before you woke up. It didn't come into camp. It just stood there watching the camp for a while. When it saw me it took off towards your sister's place. It's probably back in the forest now." "What did it look like?" I asked, suddenly curious. "Had dark brown fur; I didn't really get a good look at it though besides that," she answered. I nodded, "I'll go have a look around." "Okay but be quick about it or Koi will come looking for you," she warned. I agreed and walked off.

The rain began to pour harder as I made my way over the hill. I tried my best not to look at Lilac's tree. Koi had buried her next to it when she died. I remember that day; it was Isi who told me what happened. She stayed with me that entire day, even though Fala still hated me. I was glad she was there.

I didn't see any one around. "They're probably gone," I guessed. "You of all wolves should know to use your nose to find anything not just your eyes," said a voice. I turned around and there standing before me was a wolf. He was a dark brown like Nita said. He seemed familiar and suddenly I remembered. "Shilah?" I asked unsurely. "Guyapi great to see you; how have you been?" he asked. "Fine," I answered. "How did you get away from the humans?" Shilah asked. I shifted, "I didn't." I said. Shilah stared at me. "Then how did you get here?" he asked. I didn't know Shilah very well or Guyapi's life before the capture so I didn't have a hard time saying it but still I wasn't too fond of telling him. "I'm a dog now Shilah. They wanted me to become one of them. They gave me a new name and everything. I'm called Kitchi now." The words seemed to spill out of me like the rushing river. Shilah was quiet as if he were taking the time to process this information.

The icy rain had finally made its way through my pelt and I was now freezing. The ground that wasn't covered with grass was becoming slick with brown mud. I looked up to the sky and saw the dark grey clouds had bunched together, covering every bit of the sky.

"Well Kitchi," Shilah said coldly, "I will leave you to your humans. I must return to my family of wolves." With that he bounded off in the storm. I watched him go but guilt of the shame I had brought to Guyapi's name got to me. "I can't let him go like this," I thought. Without thinking I hurled myself after him. I was the fastest in camp but Shilah was faster. He leapt over the fallen tree branches as if they were twigs while I struggled over the wet ground around them. Shilah glided on over the turf and soon began to drift farther and farther away from me. "Shilah!" I yelled as a crack of lightning lit up the sky, "Shilah please wait; let me explain." Suddenly Shilah's pace slowed to a stop. He turned and watched me as I caught up to him.

"Look I don't really want to hear what you have to say," he snarled, "you betrayed us." "No I didn't," I said between breathes, "I had to do what they said or I would have died." "Then you would have died with honor," he said narrowing his eyes, "why are you here?" I didn't even know why I had chosen to follow him. I just thought it was the right thing to do. "To tell you I'm sorry," I said. "Sorry doesn't put food in hungry pups' mouths. We needed you last winter. We were already short of hunters; do you realize how many wolves went hungry."

I looked down. Had I been brought back here to save the wolves? If so I had failed. When I was accepted into the tribe I was no longer tied to trees at night. I was free and no one was awake; I could have escaped.

"I-I didn't know," I said. Suddenly a loud abrupt sound pierced the air. Shilah jumped, "what was that?" he asked. I shrugged. It hadn't sounded like thunder. "It sounded nearby so we can go check it out, if you like," I told him. "Well I probably should get back to the pack…" he started but I cut him off. "What are you a rabbit," I taunted. Shilah growled at me, "I'm more wolf than you'll ever be," he chided, "let's go see." He put a forepaw on a tree so he could balance himself on his back legs. He sniffed the air. "There's the smell of blood coming from that way," he reported, pointing behind us with his tail.

I nodded. "That's pretty close to camp," I thought, "I hope everything's okay." Shilah got down on all four paws and bounded off. I scrambled to catch up with him. "Only dogs have trouble running out here in the rain," he snarled as lightning brightened the sky again. "Oh, will you stop it," I yelled over a batch of thunder. The rain pounded harder around us as we let hostile statements fly. "And I can't believe you got Lilac to join you in your antics," he snapped. "He doesn't know," I realized in thought. "Shilah I don't know how I should tell you so I'm just going to say it," I said, "Lilac's dead." Shilah folded his ears back. "What!" If I'm recalling correctly Shilah was looking directly at me when he said this and not where he was going. This makes sense because after saying this he lost his balance and fell, tumbling into the most horrify thing I had ever seen.

I slid to a stop. "Oh my gosh it's Koi," I barked. Shilah looked at the Native American. His eyes were wide in a frozen frighten expression. I didn't walk over to him because the ground around him was soaked….in his blood.

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**_A.N- _Happy New Years everyone! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Who could have done this?" I asked in pure shock. Shilah shook himself, sending blood in all directions. I ducked out of its path. "Who cares," Shilah said sitting down in the blood pool around the body, "one less human to worry about." I stared at Shilah. The tribe was right. Wolves were truly cold hearted. Shilah showed no sign of even caring that my master and the chief of the tribe was dead. He was just sitting there watching me.

Koi had given me a chance and this was how he was thanked? I backed away. "What's with you?" Shilah asked. I didn't answer him; I just turned tail and ran. Rain burned my eyes as I fled, but I didn't care. All I knew was that Koi was dead and if I had been in camp like I was supposed to he wouldn't be. I crashed through foliage clumsily and was only stopped when I tripped over the root of a tree. I slid on the mucky ground. I didn't bother looking up. I didn't care where I was or what would happen anymore. I shut my eyes and slid into unconsciousness.

My ears caught the sound of shouting and foot falls of what seemed like a hundred men. I opened my eyes. I found that I had been sleeping in a puddle of mud that was about as high as my shoulders.

The rain had slowed to a steady drizzle. I stood up and shook myself, but it did little good. "I'm going to have to wash myself in water to get this out of my fur," I thought. Suddenly I heard the sound of feet again, no paws. They were running towards me. I looked around and quickly found the source. It was Shilah. He was running frantically towards me and he had terror in his eyes.

"Shilah what's wrong?" I asked. Shilah ran past me and yelled over his shoulder, "Those humans think I killed him. Now they're trying to kill me." Fear prickled my pelt. I didn't like Shilah at all, but I knew I had to help him. He was after all Guyapi's brother. No…he was my brother.

"Shilah wait!" I bellowed and dashed after him. This time I caught up to Shilah. "Follow me," I said, "they won't find us by the river." Shilah nodded and allowed me to lead in the flight for his life.

This river was the closest to camp but was steered clear of. I knew the particular river I was referring to was safe because of how large and how dangerous it was. The water was an endless rushing torrent that no one knew the end to. Even Koi wouldn't have dared to swim in it and nothing scared him.

As we neared the river I could hear screaming and shouting. "Oh no they're catching up with us," Shilah barked in horror. I stopped at the edge of the hill that broke away and led down to the river. My eyes were wide with fright. I tried to answer Shilah but couldn't muster the words. Shilah looked at me and saw what I was staring at.

There on the opposite bank of the river was the tribe. They were being led by a man on a black horse in a line down the river. They had all their belongings with them and all of their faces read that they were upset. "What's going on?" Shilah asked me. I had no clue so I said nothing.

I could hear the sound of running and knew that the men were catching up with us. "Gu-Kitchi we have to go," Shilah said, but I couldn't move. He looked at me then behind me and ran up the river, leaving me alone to face them. I tried to pick out the faces of the humans, but I couldn't find Chenoa, Dakota, or Magena. "If Koi had been here this wouldn't have happened," I thought pitifully looking at the man on the horse that was now accompanied by five others.

I looked at the men hard then realized what I was seeing. The men were leading the Native Americans away from their camp because they had been told to. I have to read about this every year in history class so I knew the story by heart. This was the beginning of The Trail of Tears.

"Kitchi!" Relief swamped me as I heard the familiar voice. It was Chenoa. All the children had been walking far from the water, that's why I hadn't seen her and her brother. She now pushed through the crowd to see me. "Kitchi come boy," she said. Of course I knew I couldn't do that. I would most likely be swept away less than halfway across. "Kitchi!" she yelled again. To my surprise she began to walk even closer to the water until she was only a step away. I couldn't let her take that step.

I did the only thing I could to alert someone for help, I howled. I could feel the wind pick up as I stopped howling, but other than that no one had even looked up. I looked behind me. "Where are the men Shilah had been talking about?" I thought. I had heard them but never seen them; and where was Magena? I looked at Chenoa who was still standing in the same place. She was being bumped into by other people but she wouldn't move. I knew something bad was about to happen. "Come Kitchi," she yelled again before it happened. My heart sank as I heard the splash. "Chenoa!" I barked. "I have to save her," I thought. She saved my life once I owed her that.

I leapt off the river bank and into the water. As I had already known the water was almost impossible for me to swim through. The water around me filled with mud that had dried and caked in my coat. I thrashed my legs around as hard as I could. I could see Chenoa who was yelling for me. The sound of screams ignited from the people on the bank. "Chenoa," I tried to say, but only received a mouthful of water. I swam harder, kicking my legs the hardest I ever had, and somehow I began to move forward. Adrenaline pumped through my veins giving me new energy.

Nita once told me a story about a dog that had jumped into this river to save his boy. She said that he had a one in a million chance of completing his mission, but in my case I was that one. Chenoa wrapped her arms around my neck and cried into me as I continued to swim. I tried to make it to the bank where the tribe was but it seemed I was only getting farther away from them. I was starting to think Chenoa and I were both going to die but then a miracle happened. A floating tree appeared and drifted down the river. It floated right over to us. I positioned myself so Chenoa could climb onto it before it passed by.

I could tell this tree had been in the river for some time. The bark of the tree had all washed away leaving the smooth wood underneath exposed. "Come on Kitchi," Chenoa said clinging to the tree. I tried to scramble up the tree but I couldn't get a grip on it. I continuously swam after it but my legs were now starting tire. Chenoa and the tree were now drifting farther and farther away from me. "Kitchi!" I looked over at the bank and saw Shilah. He had a frightened look on his face. "Help me Shilah," I tried to yell but water flooded into my mouth instead. I spat it out. I could feel my energy slipping away from me as I tried to fight the current. "This is a battle I can't win," I thought as I was pulled under the water. I fought my way back up to the surface again. Shilah was still watching me. I remember watching him that day until the water caved over me and I could breathe no more.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I gasped for air. I opened my eyes. The river, Chenoa, Shilah, the tribe, the men on horses, they were all gone. I looked around. I was in a bed and my real mom and dad, and an unfamiliar guy was standing over me. "You gave us quite a scare," said the guy. My mom was crying and my dad was holding her.

"What happened?" I tried to ask as I rubbed my forehead but my voice came out hoarse sounding. "You passed out at school," dad explained, "you went into a coma." I looked at them in disbelief. I tried to ask how long I had been sleeping but the guy, who I now knew was a doctor, told me not to talk. He gave me some sort of medicine that would help me sleep and when I woke up again Rosalina was sitting next to me. "Hi," I greeted in a raspy voice. A smile spread across her face. "Hi yourself," she replied, "how's my best friend doing?" "I've been better," I said, "how long was I in a coma?" "Nine days; your parents were worried sick, especially since Alex was sick to," she answered. "Alex was sick? Is he okay?" I asked worriedly. She nodded, "yeah he just had the flu, like you did, but not as bad." "I have the flu?" She nodded again, "You had it pretty bad. Everyone's surprised you were up walking around like nothing was wrong."

I tried to recall how I felt before what happened but couldn't remember so I guess it was possible. I saw she was holding something. "What's that?" I asked. She handed it to me, "just a 'get-well-soon' present." It was a small box wrapped in plain red wrapping paper with a lime green ribbon tied around it. I ripped off the paper and opened the navy blue box. Inside I found two necklaces. Each had a silver wolf on it and beneath the wolf was a word written in dark red, one said 'blood' and the other said 'brothers'. "One for you and Alex," Rosalina said smiling. "Thanks," I said putting the necklace with the word 'blood' on it around my neck.

I left the hospital a week later. Sadly I had missed Christmas. Alex hadn't wanted to open his presents without me so his and my presents were still lying under our Christmas tree when I got home that night. It was so late I asked if it was okay if we opened presents the next morning and went up to my room.

When I got there the first thing I saw when I turned on the light was the dream catcher hanging above my bed. I wondered what happened to Chenoa. Did she make it back to her family? And what about the real Kitchi; did I really experience his death? I was too tired to really think these questions over. I laid down on my bed and shut my eyes. Almost immediately I was overcome by sleep.

When I opened my eyes again I was standing on the bank of a river. It took me a moment to realize it was the exact same scene that was playing around me as the last time I was asleep, but this time I was human. I could see Chenoa clinging onto the tree as she floated off on it and to my amazement in the water I saw a brown wolf attempting to follow it. Was that the real Kitchi? The wolf soon grew tired of swimming and the current began to take hold of it. On the bank a dark brown wolf came bounding towards me. It barked out something towards the wolf in the water that I couldn't understand. "Shilah?" I said to the wolf as he stood almost next to me.

"He can't hear you," a voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw Aquene standing there. "Then why can you and why can I understand you?" I asked. "Because none of us are really here now," he answered. "Us?" I asked raising an eyebrow. He nodded towards the river and I turned back towards it. I opened my mouth in sure shock to what I saw; Kitchi was being rescued from the water…by Lilac. "But how can she carry him?" I wondered aloud. Lilac carried Kitchi over to Shilah and placed him on the ground. Shilah made no notion that he actually saw Lilac carry Kitchi out of the water instead he nuzzled Kitchi but he still wouldn't move.

"They were angry at each other but he still was willing to help save his life," Aquene said. I knew he was talking about Shilah being angry about Kitchi choosing humans over his family, but in the end the tribe was his family to and he gave his life to save a member of both. "Will he die?" I asked staring at the lifeless body. "He will," Lilac said walking over to us. "No," Aquene said looking at the wolf brothers as well, "Guyapi may be gone but Kitchi lives on." "What does that mean?" I asked my eyes still on Shilah and Kitchi. I watched as Shilah tried to shake his brother awake. "It means what it means," Aquene replied.

Finally Shilah gave up and lied down next to him and buried his face into his fur. I knew with the death of his brother he must have forgiven him for his actions. "I thought you said he would live!" I asked my voice going shrill. Aquene shook his head, "I did no such thing," he said in a calm voice, "I said he would die and he did. He may be gone but his spirit lives on." "What-what do you mean?" I asked him, my eyes going wide with sudden realization. "Is he saying what I think he's saying?" I asked myself in thought. I looked to where Aquene and Lilac had been standing but they were gone.

Shilah, Kitchi, and everything around me eventually faded and I woke up. I was back in my room again but I could still hear Aquene's voice: "Guyapi may be gone but Kitchi lives on." Wait…Aquene couldn't be seen by Shilah either, was he dead to? Had he been dead all along; no he couldn't have been because the first dream I had that other wolf could see him, but after that wolf had seen him though he had disappeared. I turned on my lamp and kicked the bed sheets off me. I stood up on my bed and took down the dream catcher. I suddenly didn't want it up anymore. I examined it and saw that there was something different about it. On the silver piece of metal that had, had a Native American language on it, now had English on it instead. It read: "In 1831 a wolf known as Kitchi saved the life of a Choctaw Native American girl. Like his name he showed bravery and courage to rescue her from what is now the Arkansas River." At peace that I knew that Chenoa lived I put the dream catcher back up.

"I saved her," I thought, sitting down on my bed. I smiled to myself at the thought. I reached over to my bedside table to turn off the lamp, but stopped when I found a folded piece of paper on it. I picked it up and unfolded it. I saw it was slightly browned with age but the words on it were surprisingly fully legible; they stood out on the paper in a bold black. I'll always remember what was written on it: "I may be gone but my heart will be with you for forever more, from The Bird You Set Free." I reread the sentence several times before refolding it and placing it back on the bedside table. I turned off my lamp and laid down with a smile on my face.

"And mine is with you," I whispered softly, "Chenoa."

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**_A.N- _Sorry if the part with the wolves is a bit confusing. I'll explain their part in this chapter when I put up the final (next) chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

And that's my story. Sounds ridiculous, right? I told you it was unbelievable, but it really happened. There really was a wolf a long time ago named Kitchi and for a time I walked in his paws. The day he died his spirit was set free to roam the lands he once claimed his until he found a new place to call home. He later did along with one familiar soul that was unfamiliar at first sight, but after sometime he came into recognition…

"Hey Nat come on we have to pick out our rooms," Alex said getting out of the car. We had stopped in front of a two story house. Alex ran to the house to wait on the porch for everyone else. The sun's light seemed to sit perfectly upon him as he stood there. The lightness in his eyes showed his care-free attitude. The dark brown of his hair was illuminated within the sunlight as a wolf was as it sounded its lonely call in the moonlight.

….but that's another story.

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**_A.N- _So to explain the last chapter a lot of the characters in this story are reincarnations. If you don't know what this is reincarnation is the rebirth of a soul in another body. Aquene was the reincarnation of Koi, Alex is the reincarnation of Shilah, Rosalina is the reincarnation of Chenoa, and Nat is the reincarnation of Kitchi/Guyapi.**

**So did you guys enjoy the story? Leave a review to tell me what you think of it, please. :)**


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